In many sports, such as ice, field, floor and roller hockey, ringuette, lacrosse or soccer, in order to score in an opponent's net or goal, a player must be able to accurately direct or shoot a puck, ball or other sport projectile to a desired area or part of the goal. For instance, the corners of the sport goal often provide desirable areas for scoring opportunities.
Thus, it is desirable for a “shooting” player or “shooter” to practice a desired placement of the sport projectile in the sport goal in order to improve the player's accuracy. As a result, various target assemblies have been proposed which allow a shooting player to practice the placement of the sport projectile by aiming at the particular target area provided by the assembly.
For instance, Canadian Patent No. 1,057,325 issued Jun. 26, 1979 to Samaras describes a goal shield comprised of a frame and a sectional body. The sectional body is includes a plurality of interconnected panels which define a number of “through holes” therein. A net pocket is attached to the rear of the panel about the through holes. Thus, the shooter directs the sport projectile to the through holes in the panels of the goal shield. The placement of the through holes may not be readily adjusted as repositioning of the through holes requires rearrangement of the panels.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,944,223 issued Mar. 16, 1976 to Bromwell describes a goal which is formed of a rectangular frame that supports a canvas sheet fitted with peripheral openings. The canvas sheet is fastened by tension springs to the frame so that a ball or puck striking the canvas is rebounded away from the structure, while a ball or puck entering one of the peripheral openings is scored as a goal. The placement of the openings in the canvas sheet is not adjustable.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,725,444 issued Mar. 10, 1998 to Heden describes a device for training soccer players having a rectangular net body and a plurality of pockets, both made of a flexible net material. The rectangular net body defines a plurality of apertures. A pocket is attached to the perimeter of each aperture and sized to receive at least one soccer ball. The placement of the pockets in the net body is not adjustable.
Further, each of these apparatuses would interfere with or prohibit a goaltender or goalie from being properly positioned in the sport goal. Although practicing shooting of the sport projectile at a target in an “open net” without a goaltender positioned therein is beneficial, greater accuracy and benefits are provided by more closely simulating game conditions. Thus, it is desirable for the shooter to be able to practice the placement of the sport projectile by shooting at the target while a goaltender is in position in the sport goal, in order to more accurately reflect game play or game conditions.
While providing the shooter with conditions which more accurately reflect game conditions, the goaltender is also provided with an opportunity to practice blocking the sport projectile in these target areas. Thus, the goaltender's performance may also be improved through use of the target assembly.
Although various target assemblies have been proposed for use with the goaltender in position in the sport goal, these assemblies have not been found to be fully satisfactory for various reasons. For instance, the placement or positioning of the target assembly may be fixed or not readily adjustable such that the target assembly may not be easily or readily adjusted to alternate desirable target positions. Further, the placement or positioning of the target assembly may interfere with the goaltender's performance or movement in the sport goal. In addition, the configuration or structure of the target assembly may present a potential safety hazard, particularly in the event of contact by the shooter or the goaltender. Several examples of various conventional or known target assemblies are discussed below.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,634,640 issued Jun. 3, 1997 to McCarrel describes a sports target system adapted for connection with the frame of a sport goal. The target system includes at least one resiliently stretchable cord having hooks at each end thereof and at least one flaccidly flexible target, such as a cloth material, which hangs down from the cord. In operation, the player places one or more targets onto the stretchable cord by passing the stretchable cord through a loop of each of the targets. The hooks at each end of the stretchable cord are then engaged with the side frame of the sport goal.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,842,283 issued Jun. 27, 1989 to LeBel et. al. describes a target assembly which is mounted on the frame of a hockey goal. The target assembly is comprised of a support arm for fastening to the support of the hockey goal and a contact member to be hit by the sport projectile. When the surface of the contact member is hit by the projectile, the contact member is deflected from a selected target position. A spring is provided for returning the contact member to the selected target position for subsequent contact by a further projectile.
The spring used to return the contact member to the selected target position has a relatively small spring force and may not control the return movement of the contact member in a desirable manner. Further, when the contact member is deflected from the selected target position, the structure of the support arm, and its connection with the contact member, are such that they may present a safety hazard to a player which may abut against the target assembly.
Canadian Patent No. 2,152,727 issued Sep. 21, 1999 to Masin and U.S. Pat. No. 5,888,153 issued Mar. 30, 1999 to Masin describe a target assembly comprised of a clamping device for attachment to a goal post or crossbar and a target for a sport projectile. The target is comprised of a band of steel and a pocket connected to the perimeter of the target for catching the projectile. A spring is provided to connect the target with the clamping device and to absorb the impact of the projectile hitting the target.
Further, the spring is described as a heavy gauge spring made of steel or a metal alloy and strong enough to absorb the impact of a hockey puck travelling at speeds of up to 150 km/hr striking the target. Thus, the nature of the spring, the presence of the target in the goal and the manner in which the target is mounted with the goal may present a safety hazard to a player which may abut against the target assembly. This safety hazard is particularly of concern with smaller or inexperienced players due to the strength and nature of the spring which may not give or deflect sufficiently upon contact with the target.
Therefore, there remains a need in the industry for an improved target apparatus for use with a sport goal which can be used to improve the skills of both a player shooting a sport projectile at the sport goal and a goaltender positioned in the sport goal. Further, there remains a need for a target apparatus which may be used in a safe manner by shooters and goaltenders of all sizes and levels of experience.